Amazingly, the Vegas Golden Knights have once again assigned Russian forward Vadim Shipachyov to that AHL, according to SinBin.vegas. With the team welcoming Jon Marchessault back off of injured reserve, a move needed to be made to clear a roster spot. Shipachyov is that move, as the veteran center will return to the AHL and wait for his next opportunity. Whether he actually reports to the Chicago Wolves this time is unclear, as he did not play a game for them on his first minor league stint.
Shipachyov has one point in three games, but head coach Gerard Gallant wasn’t exactly glowing about his play so far. Asked by David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal what he thought of Shipachyov’s first three games, he had this to say:
I didn’t have expectations for him. I know he’s a high [priced] free agent we got this summer and we’d like to see him score more and all that. It’s tough on the guy. He didn’t start here, he started in the minor leagues. Came up and played a few games, and you know he was okay. Wasn’t great, but he was okay. He’s been bounced around a little bit, and we just want him to compete hard and get used to the NHL game. Like I said, it hasn’t been easy right now for him but we’re seven games in so we’ve got to be patient.
The 30-year old center was signed to a two-year, $9MM contract this summer but with the way the Golden Knights are playing they can afford to keep him out of the lineup. The team is 6-1 and has received scoring help from many different sources. Like defenseman Shea Theodore, who remains in the minor leagues despite nine points in five games, Shipachyov will likely have to wait until this hot streak dies down or another injury takes a key player out of the lineup. As waiver-exempt players, both represent asset protection for the expansion club.